One of the fundamental priorities of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports since May 2023 has been supporting young people and strengthening the youth sector – not through promises and declarative statements, but through concrete and measurable actions.

All processes were initiated solely by the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sports, without any external pressures. During this period, the Youth Transfer was increased by 50% (from KM 400,000 to KM 600,000), while support for the Youth Council of the Federation of BiH was raised by nearly 70% (from KM 30,000 to KM 50,000 ).

After almost fifteen years, the process of drafting and adopting the Youth Strategy of the Federation of BiH was launched. This process was conducted in full partnership with young people – not merely because it is a legal obligation, but because the Ministry is committed to ensuring that youth participate as equal partners.

At the Ministry’s initiative (again, without external pressures), the Regulation on the Establishment of the Council for Youth of the Federation of BiH was adopted. This permanent expert and advisory body of the Government of the Federation of BiH is tasked with promoting and protecting youth rights and coordinating youth-related policies in the Federation. The Council includes representatives of five federal ministries and five representatives of the Youth Council of the Federation of BiH. Establishing the Council has been a legal obligation since 2010, when the Youth Law of the Federation of BiH was adopted. Until May 2023, there had been neither initiative nor concrete progress in fulfilling this obligation.

The Ministry had not previously issued statements regarding the Youth Transfer for 2026, as we did not wish to politicize this matter, nor the broader youth policies already being implemented. Unfortunately, certain media outlets published claims about the “deletion of the Youth Transfer” from the 2026 budget, which are not true.

In our previous statement, we clearly explained that this was a technical error arising from the application of a new budget methodology. Since August 2025, through the Ministry’s financial requests – official documents in the budget preparation process – we have explicitly defined the Youth Transfer, including its planned increase.

In line with legal procedures, and once conditions were finally met to correct this technical error, the Youth Transfer will once again be visibly included in the draft Budget of the Federation of BiH for 2026. It will be increased by 67% compared to the previous year, amounting to one million convertible marks. This also reflects the recognition of the Ministry’s first financial request for 2026. In total, this represents a 150% increase compared to the Youth Transfer as of May 2023.

Thus, over the past three years, the Ministry has increased the Youth Transfer by 150%, adopted the Youth Strategy, established the Council for Youth, and raised support for the Youth Council of the Federation of BiH.